Pesticidal mixtures

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to synergistic mixtures comprising, as active components one insecticidal compound I selected from the group of acrinathrin, allethrin, alpha-cypermethrin, beta-cypermethrin, bifenthrin, cycloprothrin, cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, cyphenothrin, deltamethrin, dimefluthrin, esfenvalerate, etofenprox, fenpropathrin, fenvalerate, flucythrinate, imiprothrin, permethrin, prallethrin, profluthrin, pyrethrin I, pyrethrin II, resmethrin, silafluofen, tau-fluvalinate, tetramethrin, theta-cypermethrin, tralomethrin, transfluthrin and zeta-cypermethrin; and one fungicidal compound II selected from the group of azoxystrobin, coumethoxystrobin, coumoxystrobin, dimoxystrobin, enestroburin, fluoxastrobin, kresoxim-methyl, metominostrobin, orysastrobin, picoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, pyrametostrobin, pyraoxystrobin, pyribencarb, trifloxysstrobin, 2-(ortho-((2,5-Dimethylphenyl-oxymethylen)phenyl)-3-methoxy-acrylic acid methyl ester, 2-(2-(3-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-1-methyl-allylideneaminooxymethyl)-phenyl)-2-methoxyimino-N-methyl-acetamide in synergistic effective amounts.

The present invention relates to synergistic mixtures comprising, asactive components

-   1) one insecticidal compound I selected from the group of    acrinathrin, allethrin, alpha-cypermethrin, beta-cypermethrin,    bifenthrin, cycloprothrin, cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, cyphenothrin,    deltamethrin, dimefluthrin, esfenvalerate, etofenprox,    fenpropathrin, fenvalerate, flucythrinate, imiprothrin, permethrin,    prallethrin, profluthrin, pyrethrin I, pyrethrin II, resmethrin,    silafluofen, tau-fluvalinate, tetramethrin, theta-cypermethrin,    tralomethrin, transfluthrin and zeta-cypermethrin; and-   2) one fungicidal compound II selected from the group of    azoxystrobin, coumethoxystrobin, coumoxystrobin, dimoxystrobin,    enestroburin, fluoxastrobin, kresoxim-methyl, metominostrobin,    orysastrobin, picoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, pyrametostrobin,    pyraoxystrobin, pyribencarb, trifloxystrobin,    2-(ortho-((2,5-Dimethylphenyl-oxymethylen)phenyl)-3-methoxy-acrylic    acid methyl ester,    24243-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-1-methyl-allylideneaminooxymethyl)-phenyl)-2-methoxyimino-N-methyl-acetamide;    in synergistic effective amounts.

These above-referred mixtures are hereinbelow also referred as“inventive mixtures”.

Moreover, the invention relates to a method for controllingphytopathogenic pests, this refers to includes phytopathogenic animalpests and phytopathogenic harmful fungi, using the inventive mixturesand to the use of compound I and compound II for preparing suchmixtures, and also to compositions comprising such mixtures.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides methods for thecontrol of phytopathogenic animal pests (such as insects, acarids ornematodes) comprising contacting the animal pest (the insect, acarid ornematode) or their food supply, habitat, breeding grounds or their locuswith a pesticidally effective amount of the inventive mixtures.

Moreover, in another embodiment the present invention also relates to amethod of protecting plants from attack or infestation byphytopathogenic animal pests (insects, acarids or nematodes) comprisingcontacting the plant, or the soil or water in which the plant isgrowing, with a pesticidally effective amount of the inventive mixture.

Moreover, the invention relates to a method for controllingphytopathogenic harmful fungi comprising contacting the phytopathogenicharmful fungi, their habitat, breeding grounds, their locus or theplants to be protected against fungal attack, the soil or plantpropagation material with an effective amount of a mixture as definedabove.

Additionally, the present invention also comprises a method forprotection of plant propagation material from phytopathogenic pests,such as phytopathogenic animal pests (insects, arachnids or nematodes)and phytopathogenic harmful fungi comprising contacting the plantpropagation materials with an inventive mixture in pesticidallyeffective amounts

The term “plant propagation material” is to be understood to denote allthe generative parts of the plant such as seeds and vegetative plantmaterial such as cuttings and tubers (e. g. potatoes), which can be usedfor the multiplication of the plant. This includes seeds, roots, fruits,tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, shoots, sprouts and other parts of plants,including seedlings and young plants, which are to be transplanted aftergermination or after emergence from soil. These young plants may also beprotected before transplantation by a total or partial treatment byimmersion or pouring. In a particular preferred embodiment, the termpropagation material denotes seeds.

The present invention further relates to plant-protecting activeingredient mixtures having synergistically enhanced action of improvingthe health of plants and to a method of applying such inventive mixturesto the plants.

WO 07/147548 discloses specific ternary mixtures of azoxystrobin withtebuconazole that may comprise a further insecticidal compound(lamda-cyhalothrin or tefluthrin are mentioned therein).

However, the specific mixtures of the present invention are notmentioned therein.

The compounds I and II as well as their pesticidal action and methodsfor producing them are generally known. For instance, the commerciallyavailable compounds may be found in The Pesticide Manual, 14th Edition,British Crop Protection Council (2006) among other publications.

One typical problem arising in the field of pest control lies in theneed to reduce the dosage rates of the active ingredient in order toreduce or avoid unfavorable environmental or toxicological effectswhilst still allowing effective pest control.

In regard to the instant invention the term “phytopathogenic pests”embrace phytopathogenic animal pests, and phytopathogenic harmful fungi.The term phytopathogenic animal pests is hereinbelow abbreviated as“animal pest” and the term phytopathogenic harmful fungi is hereinbelowabbreviated as “harmful fungi”.

Another problem encountered concerns the need to have available pestcontrol agents which are effective against a broad spectrum of pests,e.g. both animal pests and harmful fungi.

There also exists the need for pest control agents that combineknock-down activity with prolonged control, that is, fast action withlong lasting action.

Another difficulty in relation to the use of pesticides is that therepeated and exclusive application of an individual pesticidal compoundleads in many cases to a rapid selection of pests, that means animalpests, and harmful fungi, which have developed natural or adaptedresistance against the active compound in question. Therefore there is aneed for pest control agents that help prevent or overcome resistance.

Another problem underlying the present invention is the desire forcompositions that improve plants, a process which is commonly andhereinafter referred to as “plant health”.

The term plant health comprises various sorts of improvements of plantsthat are not connected to the control of pests. For example,advantageous properties that may be mentioned are improved cropcharacteristics including: emergence, crop yields, protein content, oilcontent, starch content, more developed root system (improved rootgrowth), improved stress tolerance (e.g. against drought, heat, salt,UV, water, cold), reduced ethylene (reduced production and/or inhibitionof reception), tillering increase, increase in plant height, bigger leafblade, less dead basal leaves, stronger tillers, greener leaf color,pigment content, photosynthetic activity, less input needed (such asfertilizers or water), less seeds needed, more productive tillers,earlier flowering, early grain maturity, less plant verse (lodging),increased shoot growth, enhanced plant vigor, increased plant stand andearly and better germination; or any other advantages familiar to aperson skilled in the art.

It was therefore an object of the present invention to providepesticidal mixtures which solve the problems of reducing the dosage rateand/or enhancing the spectrum of activity and/or combining knock-downactivity with prolonged control and/or to resistance management and/orpromoting the health of plants.

We have found that this object is in part or in whole achieved by thecomplex mixtures comprising the active compounds defined in the outset.

Especially, it has been found that the mixtures as defined in the outsetshow markedly enhanced action against pests compared to the controlrates that are possible with the individual compounds and/or is suitablefor improving the health of plants when applied to plants, parts ofplants, plant propagation materials (preferably seeds), or at theirlocus of growth.

It has been found that the action of the inventive mixtures goes farbeyond the fungicidal and/or insecticidal and/or plant health improvingaction of the active compounds present in the mixture alone.

Moreover, we have found that simultaneous, that is joint or separate,application of the compound I and compound II or successive applicationof the compound I and compound II allows enhanced control of pests, thatmeans animal pests, and harmful fungi, compared to the control ratesthat are possible with the individual compounds (synergistic mixtures,wherein the synergism is pesticidal synergism, i.e. synergisticfungicidal mixtures/synergistic insecticidal mixtures).

Moreover, we have found that simultaneous, that is joint or separate,application of the compound I and compound II or successive applicationof the compound I and compound II provides enhanced plant health effectscompared to the plant health effects that are possible with theindividual compounds (synergistic mixtures wherein the synergism isplant health synergism).

Preferably, the mixtures according to the present invention compriseinsecticidal compound I selected from alpha-cypermethrin, bifenthrin,cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, esfenvalerate, etofenprox,fenvalerate, flucythrinate, permethrin and zeta-cypermethrin and ascompound II a strobilurine fungicide as defined herein above and below.

More preferably, the mixtures according to the present inventioncomprise insecticidal compound I selected from alpha-cypermethrin,bifenthrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, flucythrinate and permethrin andas compound II a strobilurine fungicide as defined herein above andbelow.

Most preferably, the mixtures according to the present inventioncomprise insecticidal compound I selected from alpha-cypermethrin,bifenthrin, cypermethrin and deltamethrin and as compound II astrobilurine fungicide as defined herein above and below.

Utmost preference is given to mixtures comprising insecticidal compoundI selected from alpha-cypermethrin and as compound II a strobilurinefungicide as defined herein above and below.

Preferably, the mixtures according to the present invention comprise aninsecticidal compound I as defined above as compound II azoxystrobin,dimoxystrobin, enestroburin, fluoxastrobin, kresoxim-methyl,metominostrobin, orysastrobin, picoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin,pyribencarb or trifloxystrobin. More preferably, the mixtures accordingto the present invention comprise an insecticidal compound I as definedabove and as compound II azoxystrobin, dimoxystrobin, fluoxastrobin,kresoxim-methyl, picoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin or trifloxystrobin. Mostpreferably, the mixtures according to the present invention comprise aninsecticidal compound I as defined above and as compound IIazoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin or trifloxystrobin. Utmost preference isgiven to mixtures comprising an insecticidal compound I as defined aboveand pyraclostrobin as compound II.

Thus, the present invention overall comprises and relates to thefollowing mixtures set forth in table 1:

In table 1, the following abbreviations are used herein:

I is compound I PER = permethrin II is compound II FLU = flucythrinate P= pyraclostrobin ESFEN = esfenvalerate T = trifloxystrobin FEN =fenvalerate A = azoxystrobin ETO = etofenprox F = fluoxastrobin ZETA =zeta-cypermethrin KM = kresoxim-methyl AC = acrinathrin PIC =picoxystrobin ALL = allethrin CMET = coumethoxystrobin BETA =beta-cypermethrin CMOX = coumoxystrobin CYFLU = cyfluthrin D =dimoxystrobin CYPH = cyphenothrin E = enestroburin DIFLU = dimefluthrinMET = metominostrobin FPRO = fenpropathrin O = orysastrobin IMI =imiprothrin PYM = pyrametostrobin PRAL = prallethrin PYRI = pyribencarbPRO = profluthrin S-1 = 2-(ortho-((2,5-Dimethylphenyl- PY-I = pyrethrinI oxymethylen)phenyl)-3-methoxy-acrylic PY-II = pyrethrin II acid methylester RES = resmethrin S-2 = 2-(2-(3-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-1- SILA =silafluofen methyl- allylideneaminooxymethyl)-phenyl)-2- TAU =tau-fluvalinate methoxyimino- N-methyl-acetamide TETRA = tetramethrinALPHA = alpha-cypermethrin THETA = theta-cypermethrin BIFEN = bifenthrinTRALO = tralomethrin CYPER = cypermethrin TRANS = transfluthrin DELTA =deltamethrin

TABLE 1 No. I II M-1 ALPHA P M-2 ALPHA T M-3 ALPHA A M-4 ALPHA F M-5ALPHA KM M-6 ALPHA PIC M-7 ALPHA CMET M-8 ALPHA CMOX M-9 ALPHA D M-10ALPHA E M-11 ALPHA MET M-12 ALPHA O M-13 ALPHA PYM M-14 ALPHA PYRI M-15ALPHA S-1 M-16 ALPHA S-2 M-17 BIFEN P M-18 BIFEN T M-19 BIFEN A M-20BIFEN F M-21 BIFEN KM M-22 BIFEN PIC M-23 BIFEN CMET M-24 BIFEN CMOXM-25 BIFEN D M-26 BIFEN E M-27 BIFEN MET M-28 BIFEN O M-29 BIFEN PYMM-30 BIFEN PYRI M-31 BIFEN S-1 M-32 BIFEN S-2 M-33 CYPER P M-34 CYPER TM-35 CYPER A M-36 CYPER F M-37 CYPER KM M-38 CYPER PIC M-39 CYPER CMETM-40 CYPER CMOX M-41 CYPER D M-42 CYPER E M-43 CYPER MET M-44 CYPER OM-45 CYPER PYM M-46 CYPER PYRI M-47 CYPER S-1 M-48 CYPER S-2 M-49 DELTAP M-50 DELTA T M-51 DELTA A M-52 DELTA F M-53 DELTA KM M-54 DELTA PICM-55 DELTA CMET M-56 DELTA CMOX M-57 DELTA D M-58 DELTA E M-59 DELTA METM-60 DELTA O M-61 DELTA PYM M-62 DELTA PYRI M-63 DELTA S-1 M-64 DELTAS-2 M-65 FLU P M-66 FLU T M-67 FLU A M-68 FLU F M-69 FLU KM M-70 FLU PICM-71 FLU CMET M-72 FLU CMOX M-73 FLU D M-74 FLU E M-75 FLU MET M-76 FLUO M-77 FLU PYM M-78 FLU PYRI M-79 FLU S-1 M-80 FLU S-2 M-81 PER P M-82PER T M-83 PER A M-84 PER F M-85 PER KM M-86 PER PIC M-87 PER CMET M-88PER CMOX M-89 PER D M-90 PER E M-91 PER MET M-92 PER O M-93 PER PYM M-94PER PYRI M-95 PER S-1 M-96 PER S-2 M-97 ESFEN P M-98 ESFEN T M-99 ESFENA M-100 ESFEN F M-101 ESFEN KM M-102 ESFEN PIC M-103 ESFEN CMET M-104ESFEN CMOX M-105 ESFEN D M-106 ESFEN E M-107 ESFEN MET M-108 ESFEN OM-109 ESFEN PYM M-110 ESFEN PYRI M-111 ESFEN S-1 M-112 ESFEN S-2 M-113FEN P M-114 FEN T M-115 FEN A M-116 FEN F M-117 FEN KM M-118 FEN PICM-119 FEN CMET M-120 FEN CMOX M-121 FEN D M-122 FEN E M-123 FEN METM-124 FEN O M-125 FEN PYM M-126 FEN PYRI M-127 FEN S-1 M-128 FEN S-2M-129 ETO P M-130 ETO T M-131 ETO A M-132 ETO F M-133 ETO KM M-134 ETOPIC M-135 ETO CMET M-136 ETO CMOX M-137 ETO D M-138 ETO E M-139 ETO METM-140 ETO O M-141 ETO PYM M-142 ETO PYRI M-143 ETO S-1 M-144 ETO S-2M-145 ZETA P M-146 ZETA T M-147 ZETA A M-148 ZETA F M-149 ZETA KM M-150ZETA PIC M-151 ZETA CMET M-152 ZETA CMOX M-153 ZETA D M-154 ZETA E M-155ZETA MET M-156 ZETA O M-157 ZETA PYM M-158 ZETA PYRI M-159 ZETA S-1M-160 ZETA S-2 M-161 AC P M-162 AC T M-163 AC A M-164 AC F M-165 AC KMM-166 AC PIC M-167 AC CMET M-168 AC CMOX M-169 AC D M-170 AC E M-171 ACMET M-172 AC O M-173 AC PYM M-174 AC PYRI M-175 AC S-1 M-176 AC S-2M-177 ALL P M-178 ALL T M-179 ALL A M-180 ALL F M-181 ALL KM M-182 ALLPIC M-183 ALL CMET M-184 ALL CMOX M-185 ALL D M-186 ALL E M-187 ALL METM-188 ALL O M-189 ALL PYM M-190 ALL PYRI M-191 ALL S-1 M-192 ALL S-2M-193 BETA P M-194 BETA T M-195 BETA A M-196 BETA F M-197 BETA KM M-198BETA PIC M-199 BETA CMET M-200 BETA CMOX M-201 BETA D M-202 BETA E M-203BETA MET M-204 BETA O M-205 BETA PYM M-206 BETA PYRI M-207 BETA S-1M-208 BETA S-2 M-209 CYFLU P M-210 CYFLU T M-211 CYFLU A M-212 CYFLU FM-213 CYFLU KM M-214 CYFLU PIC M-215 CYFLU CMET M-216 CYFLU CMOX M-217CYFLU D M-218 CYFLU E M-219 CYFLU MET M-220 CYFLU O M-221 CYFLU PYMM-222 CYFLU PYRI M-223 CYFLU S-1 M-224 CYFLU S-2 M-225 CYPH P M-226 CYPHT M-227 CYPH A M-228 CYPH F M-229 CYPH KM M-230 CYPH PIC M-231 CYPH CMETM-232 CYPH CMOX M-233 CYPH D M-234 CYPH E M-235 CYPH MET M-236 CYPH OM-237 CYPH PYM M-238 CYPH PYRI M-239 CYPH S-1 M-240 CYPH S-2 M-241 DIFLUP M-242 DIFLU T M-243 DIFLU A M-244 DIFLU F M-245 DIFLU KM M-246 DIFLUPIC M-247 DIFLU CMET M-248 DIFLU CMOX M-249 DIFLU D M-250 DIFLU E M-251DIFLU MET M-252 DIFLU O M-253 DIFLU PYM M-254 DIFLU PYRI M-255 DIFLU S-1M-256 DIFLU S-2 M-257 FPRO P M-258 FPRO T M-259 FPRO A M-260 FPRO FM-261 FPRO KM M-262 FPRO PIC M-263 FPRO CMET M-264 FPRO CMOX M-265 FPROD M-266 FPRO E M-267 FPRO MET M-268 FPRO O M-269 FPRO PYM M-270 FPROPYRI M-271 FPRO S-1 M-272 FPRO S-2 M-273 IMI P M-274 IMI T M-275 IMI AM-276 IMI F M-277 IMI KM M-278 IMI PIC M-279 IMI CMET M-280 IMI CMOXM-281 IMI D M-282 IMI E M-283 IMI MET M-284 IMI O M-285 IMI PYM M-286IMI PYRI M-287 IMI S-1 M-288 IMI S-2 M-289 PRAL P M-290 PRAL T M-291PRAL A M-292 PRAL F M-293 PRAL KM M-294 PRAL PIC M-295 PRAL CMET M-296PRAL CMOX M-297 PRAL D M-298 PRAL E M-299 PRAL MET M-300 PRAL O M-301PRAL PYM M-302 PRAL PYRI M-303 PRAL S-1 M-304 PRAL S-2 M-305 PRO P M-306PRO T M-307 PRO A M-308 PRO F M-309 PRO KM M-310 PRO PIC M-311 PRO CMETM-312 PRO CMOX M-313 PRO D M-314 PRO E M-315 PRO MET M-316 PRO O M-317PRO PYM M-318 PRO PYRI M-319 PRO S-1 M-320 PRO S-2 M-321 PY-I P M-322PY-I T M-323 PY-I A M-324 PY-I F M-325 PY-I KM M-326 PY-I PIC M-327 PY-ICMET M-328 PY-I CMOX M-329 PY-I D M-330 PY-I E M-331 PY-I MET M-332 PY-IO M-333 PY-I PYM M-334 PY-I PYRI M-335 PY-I S-1 M-336 PY-I S-2 M-337PY-II P M-338 PY-II T M-339 PY-II A M-340 PY-II F M-341 PY-II KM M-342PY-II PIC M-343 PY-II CMET M-344 PY-II CMOX M-345 PY-II D M-346 PY-II EM-347 PY-II MET M-348 PY-II O M-349 PY-II PYM M-350 PY-II PYRI M-351PY-II S-1 M-352 PY-II S-2 M-353 RES P M-354 RES T M-355 RES A M-356 RESF M-357 RES KM M-358 RES PIC M-359 RES CMET M-360 RES CMOX M-361 RES DM-362 RES E M-363 RES MET M-364 RES O M-365 RES PYM M-366 RES PYRI M-367RES S-1 M-368 RES S-2 M-369 SILA P M-370 SILA T M-371 SILA A M-372 SILAF M-373 SILA KM M-374 SILA PIC M-375 SILA CMET M-376 SILA CMOX M-377SILA D M-378 SILA E M-379 SILA MET M-380 SILA O M-381 SILA PYM M-382SILA PYRI M-383 SILA S-1 M-384 SILA S-2 M-385 TAU P M-386 TAU T M-387TAU A M-388 TAU F M-389 TAU KM M-390 TAU PIC M-391 TAU CMET M-392 TAUCMOX M-393 TAU D M-394 TAU E M-395 TAU MET M-396 TAU O M-397 TAU PYMM-398 TAU PYRI M-399 TAU S-1 M-400 TAU S-2 M-401 TETRA P M-402 TETRA TM-403 TETRA A M-404 TETRA F M-405 TETRA KM M-406 TETRA PIC M-407 TETRACMET M-408 TETRA CMOX M-409 TETRA D M-410 TETRA E M-411 TETRA MET M-412TETRA O M-413 TETRA PYM M-414 TETRA PYRI M-415 TETRA S-1 M-416 TETRA S-2M-417 THETA P M-418 THETA T M-419 THETA A M-420 THETA F M-421 THETA KMM-422 THETA PIC M-423 THETA CMET M-424 THETA CMOX M-425 THETA D M-426THETA E M-427 THETA MET M-428 THETA O M-429 THETA PYM M-430 THETA PYRIM-431 THETA S-1 M-432 THETA S-2 M-433 TRALO P M-434 TRALO T M-435 TRALOA M-436 TRALO F M-437 TRALO KM M-438 TRALO PIC M-439 TRALO CMET M-440TRALO CMOX M-441 TRALO D M-442 TRALO E M-443 TRALO MET M-444 TRALO OM-445 TRALO PYM M-446 TRALO PYRI M-447 TRALO S-1 M-448 TRALO S-2 M-449TRANS P M-450 TRANS T M-451 TRANS A M-452 TRANS F M-453 TRANS KM M-454TRANS PIC M-455 TRANS CMET M-456 TRANS CMOX M-457 TRANS D M-458 TRANS EM-459 TRANS MET M-460 TRANS O M-461 TRANS PYM M-462 TRANS PYRI M-463TRANS S-1 M-464 TRANS S-2

Within the mixtures of table 1, the following mixtures are preferred:M-1, M-2, M-3, M-4, M-5, M-6, M-17, M-18, M-19, M-20, M-21, M-22, M-33,M-34, M-35, M-36, M-37, M-38, M-49, M-50, M-51, M-52, M-53, M-54, M-65,M-66, M-67, M-68, M-69, M-70, M-81, M-82, M-83, M-84, M-85 and M-86.Within the above-mentioned preferred subset of mixtures, the followingmixtures are preferred: M-1, M-2, M-3, M-17, M-18, M-19, M-33, M-34,M-35, M-49, M-50, M-51, M-65, M-66, M-67, M-81, M-82, M-83, M-97, M-98,M-99, M-113, M-114, M-115, M-129, M-130, M-131, M-145, M-146, M-147,M-161, M-162 and M-163; the following mixtures M-1, M-2, M-3, M-17,M-18, M-19, M-33, M-34, M-35, M-49, M-50 and M-51 are more preferred andthe mixtures M-1, M-2, M-17, M-18, M-33, M-34, M-49 and M-50 are mostpreferred. Herein, particular preference is given to M-1, M-17, M-33 andM-49 and utmost preference is given to Ml.

The ratios by weight for the each of the above-referred mixturescomprising inseciticdal compound I and the fungicidal compound II arefrom 1:500 to 500:1, preferably from 1:100 to 100:1, more preferablyfrom 1:25 to 25:1 and most preferably from 1:10 to 10:1.

In a further embodiment, the present invention also relates to mixturescomprising

-   1) one insecticidal compound I selected from cyhalothrin, tefluthrin    and lambdacyhalothrin; and-   2) one fungicidal compound II selected from the group of    coumethoxystrobin, coumoxystrobin, dimoxystrobin, enestroburin,    fluoxastrobin, kresoxim-methyl, metominostrobin, orysastrobin,    picoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, pyrametostrobin, pyraoxystrobin,    pyribencarb, trifloxystrobin,    2-(ortho-((2,5-Dimethylphenyloxymethylen)phenyl)-3-methoxy-acrylic    acid methyl ester,    2-(2-(3-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-1-methyl-allylideneaminooxymethylyphenyl)-2-methoxyimino-N-methyl-acetamide;    in synergistic effective amounts, wherein, preferably, these    mixtures comprise as compound II azoxystrobin, dimoxystrobin,    enestroburin, fluoxastrobin, kresoxim-methyl, metominostrobin,    orysastrobin, picoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, pyribencarb or    trifloxystrobin, more preferably as compound II dimoxystrobin,    fluoxastrobin, kresoxim-methyl, picoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin or    trifloxystrobin, most preferably, azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin or    trifloxystrobin, utmost preferably and pyraclostrobin as compound    II.

All afore-mentioned mixtures (N-1 to N-42) including the preferred [N-16to N-42], more preferred [N-25 to N-42], most preferred [N-36 to N-42]and utmost preferred embodiments [N-39 to N-42] of these mixtures areset forth in table 2:

I is compound I O = orysastrobin II is compound II PYM = pyrametostrobinP = pyraclostrobin PYRI = pyribencarb T = trifloxystrobin S-1 =2-(ortho-((2,5-Dimethylphenyl- F = fluoxastrobinoxymethylen)phenyl)-3-methoxy-acrylic acid KM = kresoxim-methyl methylester PIC = picoxystrobin S-2 = 2-(2-(3-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-1-methyl-CMET = allylideneaminooxymethyl)-phenyl)-2- coumethoxystrobinmethoxyimino-N-methyl-acetamide CMOX = coumoxystrobin CY = cyhalothrin,D = dimoxystrobin TE = tefluthrin E = enestroburin L-CY =lambda-cyhalothrin MET = metominostrobin

No. I II N-1 CY S-1 N-2 TE S-1 N-3 L-CY S-1 N-4 CY S-2 N-5 TE S-2 N-6L-CY S-2 N-7 CY CMOX N-8 TE CMOX N-9 L-CY CMOX N-10 CY CMET N-11 TE CMETN-12 L-CY CMET N-13 CY PYM N-14 TE PYM N-15 L-CY PYM N-16 CY E N-17 TE EN-18 L-CY E N-19 CY MET N-20 TE MET N-21 L-CY MET N-22 CY O N-23 TE ON-24 L-CY O N-25 CY D N-26 TE D N-27 L-CY D N-28 CY PIC N-29 TE PIC N-30L-CY PIC N-31 CY KM N-32 TE KM N-33 L-CY KM N-34 CY F N-35 TE F N-36L-CY F N-37 CY T N-38 TE T N-39 L-CY T N-40 CY P N-41 TE P N-42 L-CY P

Herein, in accordance with the above-mentioned preferences, thefollowing mixtures of table 2 are preferred: N-16, N-17, N-18, N-19,N-20, N-21, N-22, N-23, N-24, N-25, N26, N-27, N-28, N-29, N-30, N-31,N-32, N-33, N-34, N-35, N-36, N-37, N-38, N-39, N40, N-41 and N-42; thefollowing mixtures N-26, N-27, N-28, N-29, N-30, N-31, N-32, N-33, N-34,N-35, N-36, N-37, N-38, N-39, N-40, N-41 and N-42 are more preferred andthe mixtures N-37, N-38, N-39, N-40, N-41 and N-42 are most preferred.Herein, utmost preference is given to N-40, N-41 and N-42.

The ratios by weight for the each of the above-referred mixturescomprising inseciticdal compound I and the fungicidal compound II arefrom 1:500 to 500:1, preferably from 1:100 to 100:1, more preferablyfrom 1:25 to 25:1 and most preferably from 1:10 to 10:1.

Each of the above-mentioned inventive mixtures can further comprise oneor more insecticides, fungicides, herbicides.

For use according to the present invention, the mixtures according tothe invention can be converted into the customary formulations, forexample solutions, emulsions, suspensions, dusts, powders, pastes andgranules. The use form depends on the particular intended purpose; ineach case, it should ensure a fine and even distribution of the mixturesaccording to the present invention. The formulations are prepared in aknown manner (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,084, EP-A 707 445 (for liquidconcentrates), Browning: “Agglomeration”, Chemical Engineering, Dec. 4,1967, 147-48, Perry's Chemical Engineer's Handbook, 4th Ed.,McGraw-Hill, New York, 1963, S. 8-57 and ff. WO 91/13546, U.S. Pat. No.4,172,714, U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,050, U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,442, U.S. Pat.No. 5,180,587, U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,701, U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,030, GB2,095,558, U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,566, Klingman: Weed Control as a Science(J. Wiley & Sons, New York, 1961), Hance et al.: Weed Control Handbook(8th Ed., Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1989) and Mollet, H. andGrubemann, A.: Formulation technology (Wiley VCH Verlag, Weinheim,2001).

The agrochemical formulations may also comprise auxiliaries which arecustomary in agrochemical formulations. The auxiliaries used depend onthe particular application form and active substance, respectively.

Examples for suitable auxiliaries are solvents, solid carriers,dispersants or emulsifiers (such as further solubilizers, protectivecolloids, surfactants and adhesion agents), organic and anorganicthickeners, bactericides, anti-freezing agents, anti-foaming agents, ifappropriate colorants and tackifiers or binders (e. g. for seedtreatment formulations).

Suitable solvents are water, organic solvents such as mineral oilfractions of medium to high boiling point, such as kerosene or dieseloil, furthermore coal tar oils and oils of vegetable or animal origin,aliphatic, cyclic and aromatic hydrocarbons, e. g. toluene, xylene,paraffin, tetrahydronaphthalene, alkylated naphthalenes or theirderivatives, alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol andcyclohexanol, glycols, ketones such as cyclohexanone andgamma-butyrolactone, fatty acid dimethylamides, fatty acids and fattyacid esters and strongly polar solvents, e. g. amines such asNmethylpyrrolidone.

Solid carriers are mineral earths such as silicates, silica gels, talc,kaolins, limestone, lime, chalk, bole, loess, clays, dolomite,diatomaceous earth, calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, magnesium oxide,ground synthetic materials, fertilizers, such as, e. g., ammoniumsulfate, ammonium phosphate, ammonium nitrate, ureas, and products ofvegetable origin, such as cereal meal, tree bark meal, wood meal andnutshell meal, cellulose powders and other solid carriers.

Suitable surfactants (adjuvants, wtters, tackifiers, dispersants oremulsifiers) are alkali metal, alkaline earth metal and ammonium saltsof aromatic sulfonic acids, such as ligninsoulfonic acid (Borresperse®types, Borregard, Norway) phenolsulfonic acid, naphthalenesulfonic acid(Morwet® types, Akzo Nobel, U.S.A.), dibutylnaphthalenesulfonic acid(Nekal® types, BASF, Germany), and fatty acids, alkylsulfonates,alkylarylsulfonates, alkyl sulfates, laurylether sulfates, fatty alcoholsulfates, and sulfated hexa-, hepta- and octadecanolates, sulfated fattyalcohol glycol ethers, furthermore condensates of naphthalene or ofnaphthalenesulfonic acid with phenol and formaldehyde, polyoxy-ethyleneoctylphenyl ether, ethoxylated isooctylphenol, octylphenol, nonylphenol,alkylphenyl polyglycol ethers, tributylphenyl polyglycol ether,tristearylphenyl polyglycol ether, alkylaryl polyether alcohols, alcoholand fatty alcohol/ethylene oxide condensates, ethoxylated castor oil,polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, ethoxylated polyoxypropylene, laurylalcohol polyglycol ether acetal, sorbitol esters, lignin-sulfite wasteliquors and proteins, denatured proteins, polysaccharides (e. g.methylcellulose), hydrophobically modified starches, polyvinyl alcohols(Mowiol® types, Clariant, Switzerland), polycarboxylates (Sokolan®types, BASF, Germany), polyalkoxylates, polyvinylamines (Lupasol® types,BASF, Germany), polyvinylpyrrolidone and the copolymers thereof.

Examples for thickeners (i. e. compounds that impart a modifiedflowability to formulations, i. e. high viscosity under staticconditions and low viscosity during agitation) are polysaccharides andorganic and anorganic clays such as Xanthan gum (Kelzan®, CP Kelco,U.S.A.), Rhodopol® 23 (Rhodia, France), Veegum® (R. T. Vanderbilt,U.S.A.) or Attaclay® (Engelhard Corp., NJ, USA).

Bactericides may be added for preservation and stabilization of theformulation. Examples for suitable bactericides are those based ondichlorophene and benzylalcohol hemi formal (Proxel® from ICI orActicide® RS from Thor Chemie and Kathon® MK from Rohm & Haas) andisothiazolinone derivatives such as alkylisothiazolinones andbenzisothiazolinones (Acticide® MBS from Thor Chemie).

Examples for suitable anti-freezing agents are ethylene glycol,propylene glycol, urea and glycerin.

Examples for anti-foaming agents are silicone emulsions (such as e. g.Silikon® SRE, Wacker, Germany or Rhodorsil®, Rhodia, France), long chainalcohols, fatty acids, salts of fatty acids, fluoroorganic compounds andmixtures thereof.

Suitable colorants are pigments of low water solubility andwater-soluble dyes. Examples to be mentioned and the designationsrhodamin B, C. I. pigment red 112, C. I. solvent red 1, pigment blue15:4, pigment blue 15:3, pigment blue 15:2, pigment blue 15:1, pigmentblue 80, pigment yellow 1, pigment yellow 13, pigment red 112, pigmentred 48:2, pigment red 48:1, pigment red 57:1, pigment red 53:1, pigmentorange 43, pigment orange 34, pigment orange 5, pigment green 36,pigment green 7, pigment white 6, pigment brown 25, basic violet 10,basic violet 49, acid red 51, acid red 52, acid red 14, acid blue 9,acid yellow 23, basic red 10, basic red 108.

Examples for tackifiers or binders are polyvinylpyrrolidons,polyvinylacetates, polyvinyl alcohols and cellulose ethers (Tylose®,Shin-Etsu, Japan).

Powders, materials for spreading and dusts can be prepared by mixing orconcomitantly grinding the compounds the respective active compoundspresent in the inventive mixtures and, if appropriate, further activesubstances, with at least one solid carrier.

Granules, e. g. coated granules, impregnated granules and homogeneousgranules, can be prepared by binding the active substances to solidcarriers. Examples of solid carriers are mineral earths such as silicagels, silicates, talc, kaolin, attaclay, limestone, lime, chalk, bole,loess, clay, dolomite, diatomaceous earth, calcium sulfate, magnesiumsulfate, magnesium oxide, ground synthetic materials, fertilizers, suchas, e. g., ammonium sulfate, ammonium phosphate, ammonium nitrate,ureas, and products of vegetable origin, such as cereal meal, tree barkmeal, wood meal and nutshell meal, cellulose powders and other solidcarriers.

Examples of formulation types are suspensions (SC, OD, FS), emulsifiableconcentrates (EC), emulsions (EW, EO, ES), pastes, pastilles, wettablepowders or dusts (WP, SP, SS, WS, DP, DS) or granules (GR, FG, GG, MG),which can be water-soluble or wettable, as well as gel formulations forthe treatment of plant propagation materials such as seeds (GF), hereinfurther below exemplified in detail:

1. Composition Types for Dilution with Water

i) Water-Soluble Concentrates (SL, LS)

10 parts by weight of compounds of the inventive mixtures are dissolvedin 90 parts by weight of water or in a water-soluble solvent. As analternative, wetting agents or other auxiliaries are added. The activesubstance dissolves upon dilution with water. In this way, a formulationhaving a content of 10% by weight of active substance is obtained.

ii) Dispersible Concentrates (DC)

20 parts by weight of compounds of the inventive mixtures are dissolvedin 70 parts by weight of cyclohexanone with addition of 10 parts byweight of a dispersant, e. g. polyvinylpyrrolidone. Dilution with watergives a dispersion. The active substance content is 20% by weight.

iii) Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC)

15 parts by weight of compounds of the inventive mixtures are dissolvedin 75 parts by weight of xylene with addition of calciumdodecylbenzenesulfonate and castor oil ethoxylate (in each case 5 partsby weight). Dilution with water gives an emulsion. The composition hasan active substance content of 15% by weight.

iv) Emulsions (EW, EO, ES)

25 parts by weight of compounds of the inventive mixtures are dissolvedin 35 parts by weight of xylene with addition of calciumdodecylbenzenesulfonate and castor oil ethoxylate (in each case 5 partsby weight). This mixture is introduced into 30 parts by weight of waterby means of an emulsifying machine (Ultraturrax) and made into ahomogeneous emulsion. Dilution with water gives an emulsion. Thecomposition has an active substance content of 25% by weight.

v) Suspensions (SC, OD, FS)

In an agitated ball mill, 20 parts by weight of compounds of theinventive mixtures are comminuted with addition of 10 parts by weight ofdispersants and wetting agents and 70 parts by weight of water or anorganic solvent to give a fine active substance suspension. Dilutionwith water gives a stable suspension of the active substance. The activesubstance content in the composition is 20% by weight.

vi) Water-Dispersible Granules and Water-Soluble Granules (WG, SG)

50 parts by weight of compounds of the inventive mixtures are groundfinely with addition of 50 parts by weight of dispersants and wettingagents and prepared as water-dispersible or water-soluble granules bymeans of technical appliances (e. g. extrusion, spray tower, fluidizedbed). Dilution with water gives a stable dispersion or solution of theactive substance. The composition has an active substance content of 50%by weight.

vii) Water-Dispersible Powders and Water-Soluble Powders (WP, SP, SS,WS)

75 parts by weight of compounds of the inventive mixtures are ground ina rotor-stator mill with addition of 25 parts by weight of dispersants,wetting agents and silica gel. Dilution with water gives a stabledispersion or solution of the active substance. The active substancecontent of the composition is 75% by weight.

viii) Gel (GF)

In an agitated ball mill, 20 parts by weight of compounds of theinventive mixtures are comminuted with addition of 10 parts by weight ofdispersants, 1 part by weight of a gelling agent wetters and 70 parts byweight of water or of an organic solvent to give a fine suspension ofthe active substance. Dilution with water gives a stable suspension ofthe active substance, whereby a composition with 20% (w/w) of activesubstance is obtained.

2. Composition Types to be Applied Undiluted ix) Dustable Powders (DP,DS)

5 parts by weight of compounds of the inventive mixtures are groundfinely and mixed intimately with 95 parts by weight of finely dividedkaolin. This gives a dustable composition having an active substancecontent of 5% by weight.

x) Granules (GR, FG, GG, MG)

0.5 parts by weight of compounds of the inventive mixtures is groundfinely and associated with 99.5 parts by weight of carriers. Currentmethods are extrusion, spray-drying or the fluidized bed. This givesgranules to be applied undiluted having an active substance content of0.5% by weight.

xi) ULV Solutions (UL)

10 parts by weight of compounds of the inventive mixtures are dissolvedin 90 parts by weight of an organic solvent, e. g. xylene. This gives acomposition to be applied undiluted having an active substance contentof 10% by weight.

The agrochemical formulations generally comprise between 0.01 and 95%,preferably between 0.1 and 90%, most preferably between 0.5 and 90%, byweight of active substances. The compounds of the inventive mixtures areemployed in a purity of from 90% to 100%, preferably from 95% to 100%(according to NMR spectrum).

The compounds of the inventive mixtures can be used as such or in theform of their compositions, e. g. in the form of directly sprayablesolutions, powders, suspensions, dispersions, emulsions, oildispersions, pastes, dustable products, materials for spreading, orgranules, by means of spraying, atomizing, dusting, spreading, brushing,immersing or pouring. The application forms depend entirely on theintended purposes; it is intended to ensure in each case the finestpossible distribution of the compounds present in the inventivemixtures.

Aqueous application forms can be prepared from emulsion concentrates,pastes or wettable powders (sprayable powders, oil dispersions) byadding water. To prepare emulsions, pastes or oil dispersions, thesubstances, as such or dissolved in an oil or solvent, can behomogenized in water by means of a wetter, tackifier, dispersant oremulsifier. Alternatively, it is possible to prepare concentratescomposed of active substance, wetter, tackifier, dispersant oremulsifier and, if appropriate, solvent or oil, and such concentratesare suitable for dilution with water.

The active substance concentrations in the ready-to-use preparations canbe varied within relatively wide ranges. In general, they are from0.0001 to 10%, preferably from 0.001 to 1% by weight of compounds of theinventive mixtures.

The compounds of the inventive mixtures may also be used successfully inthe ultralow-volume process (ULV), it being possible to applycompositions comprising over 95% by weight of active substance, or evento apply the active substance without additives.

Various types of oils, welters, adjuvants, herbicides, fungicides, otherpesticides, or bactericides may be added to the active compounds, ifappropriate not until immediately prior to use (tank mix). These agentscan be admixed with the compounds of the inventive mixtures in a weightratio of 1:100 to 100:1, preferably 1:10 to 10:1.

Compositions of this invention may also contain fertilizers such asammonium nitrate, urea, potash, and superphosphate, phytotoxicants andplant growth regulators and safeners. These may be used sequentially orin combination with the above-described compositions, if appropriatealso added only immediately prior to use (tank mix). For example, theplant(s) may be sprayed with a composition of this invention eitherbefore or after being treated with the fertilizers.

The compounds contained in the mixtures as defined above can be appliedsimultaneously, that is jointly or separately, or in succession, whereinthe time interval between the individual applications is selected toensure that the active substance applied first still occurs at the siteof action in a sufficient amount at the time of application of thefurther active substance(s). The order of application is not essentialfor working of the present invention.

According to this invention, the compound I and compound II is to beunderstood to denote, that at least the compound I and compound II occursimultaneously at the site of action (i.e. the pests, such as harmfulfungi and anminal pests such as insects, arachinds or nematods to becontrolled or their habitats such as infected plants, plant propagationmaterials, particularly seeds, surfaces, materials or the soil as wellas plants, plant propagation materials, particularly seeds, soil,surfaces, materials or rooms to be protected from fungal or animalattack) in a effective amount.

This can be obtained by applying the compound I and compound IIsimultaneously, either jointly (e. g. as tank-mix) or sperately, or insuccession, wherein the time interval between the individualapplications is selected to ensure that the active substance appliedfirst still occurs at the site of action in a sufficient amount at thetime of application of the further active substance(s). The order ofapplication is not essential for working of the present invention.

In the mixtures of the present invention, the weight ratio of thecompounds generally depends from the properties of the compounds of theinventive mixtures.

The compounds of the inventive mixtures can be used individually oralready partially or completely mixed with one another to prepare thecomposition according to the invention. It is also possible for them tobe packaged and used further as combination composition such as a kit ofparts.

In one embodiment of the invention, the kits may include one or more,including all, components that may be used to prepare a subjectagrochemical composition. E. g., kits may include the compound I andcompound II and/or an adjuvant component and/or a further pesticidalcompound (e.g. insecticide or herbicide) and/or a growth regulatorcomponent). One or more of the components may already be combinedtogether or pre-formulated. In those embodiments where more than twocomponents are provided in a kit, the components may already be combinedtogether and as such are packaged in a single container such as a vial,bottle, can, pouch, bag or canister. In other embodiments, two or morecomponents of a kit may be packaged separately, i. e., notpre-formulated. As such, kits may include one or more separatecontainers such as vials, cans, bottles, pouches, bags or canisters,each container containing a separate component for an agrochemicalcomposition. In both forms, a component of the kit may be appliedseparately from or together with the further components or as acomponent of a combination composition according to the invention forpreparing the composition according to the invention.

The user applies the composition according to the invention usually froma predosage device, a knapsack sprayer, a spray tank or a spray plane.Here, the agrochemical composition is made up with water and/or bufferto the desired application concentration, it being possible, ifappropriate, to add further auxiliaries, and the ready-to-use sprayliquor or the agrochemical composition according to the invention isthus obtained. Usually, 50 to 500 liters of the ready-to-use sprayliquor are applied per hectare of agricultural useful area, preferably100 to 400 liters.

According to one embodiment, individual compounds of the inventivemixtures formulated as composition (or formulation) such as parts of akit or parts of the inventive mixture may be mixed by the user himselfin a spray tank and further auxiliaries may be added, if appropriate(tank mix).

In a further embodiment, either individual compounds of the inventivemixtures formulated as composition or partially premixed components, e.g. components comprising the compound I and compound II may be mixed bythe user in a spray tank and further auxiliaries and additives may beadded, if appropriate (tank mix).

In a further embodiment, either individual components of the compositionaccording to the invention or partially premixed components, e. g.components comprising the compound I and compound II, can be appliedjointly (e.g. after tankmix) or consecutively.

As said above, the present invention comprises a method for controllingpests, that means animal pests and harmful fungi, wherein the pest,their habitat, breeding grounds, their locus or the plants to beprotected against pest attack, the soil or plant propagation material(preferably seed) are treated with an pesticidally effective amount of amixture.

Advantageously, the inventive mixtures are suitable for controlling thefollowing harmful fungi:

Albugo spp. (white rust) on ornamentals, vegetables (e. g. A. candida)and sunflowers (e. g. A. tragopogonis); Alternaria spp. (Alternaria leafspot) on vegetables, rape (A. brassicola or brassicae), sugar beets (A.tenuis), fruits, rice, soybeans, potatoes (e. g. A. solani or A.alternata), tomatoes (e. g. A. solani or A. alternata) and wheat;Aphanomyces spp. on sugar beets and vegetables; Ascochyta spp. oncereals and vegetables, e. g. A. tritici (anthracnose) on wheat and A.hordei on barley; Bipolaris and Drechslera spp. (teleomorph:Cochliobolus spp.), e. g. Southern leaf blight (D. maydis) or Northernleaf blight (B. zeicola) on corn, e. g. spot blotch (B. sorokiniana) oncereals and e.g. B. oryzae on rice and turfs; Blumeria (formerlyErysiphe) graminis (powdery mildew) on cereals (e. g. on wheat orbarley); Botrytis cinerea (teleomorph: Botryotinia fuckeliana: greymold) on fruits and berries (e. g. strawberries), vegetables (e. g.lettuce, carrots, celery and cabbages), rape, flowers, vines, forestryplants and wheat; Bremia lactucae (downy mildew) on lettuce;Ceratocystis (syn. Ophiostoma) spp. (rot or wilt) on broad-leaved treesand evergreens, e. g. C. ulmi (Dutch elm disease) on elms; Cercosporaspp. (Cercospora leaf spots) on corn (e.g. Gray leaf spot: C.zeae-maydis), rice, sugar beets (e. g. C. beticola), sugar cane,vegetables, coffee, soybeans (e. g. C. sojina or C. kikuchfi) and rice;Cladosporium spp. on tomatoes (e. g. C. fulvum leaf mold) and cereals,e. g. C. herbarum (black ear) on wheat; Claviceps purpurea (ergot) oncereals; Cochliobolus (anamorph: Helminthosporium of Bipolaris) spp.(leaf spots) on corn (C. carbonum), cereals (e. g. C. sativus, anamorph:B. sorokiniana) and rice (e. g. C. miyabeanus, anamorph: H. oryzae);Colletotrichum (teleomorph: Glomerella) spp. (anthracnose) on cotton (e.g. C. gossypii), corn (e. g. C. graminicola: Anthracnose stalk rot),soft fruits, potatoes (e. g. C. coccodes black dot), beans (e. g. C.lindemuthianum) and soybeans (e. g. C. truncatum or C. gloeosporioides);Corticium spp., e. g. C. sasakii (sheath blight) on rice; Corynesporacassiicola (leaf spots) on soybeans and ornamentals; Cycloconium spp.,e. g. C. oleaginum on olive trees; Cylindrocarpon spp. (e. g. fruit treecanker or young vine decline, teleomorph: Nectria or Neonectria spp.) onfruit trees, vines (e. g. C. liriodendri, teleomorph: Neonectrialiriodendri: Black Foot Disease) and ornamentals; Dematophora(teleomorph: Rosellinia) necatrix (root and stem rot) on soybeans;Diaporthe spp., e. g. D. phaseolorum (damping off) on soybeans;Drechslera (syn. Helminthosporium, teleomorph: Pyrenophora) spp. oncorn, cereals, such as barley (e. g. D. teres, net blotch) and wheat (e.g. D. tritici-repentis: tan spot), rice and turf; Esca (dieback,apoplexy) on vines, caused by Formitiporia (syn. Phellinus) punctata, F.mediterranea, Phaeomoniella chlamydospora (earlier Phaeoacremoniumchlamydosporum), Phaeoacremonium aleophilum and/or Botryosphaeriaobtusa; Elsinoe spp. on pome fruits (E. pyn), soft fruits (E. veneta:anthracnose) and vines (E. ampelina: anthracnose); Entyloma oryzae (leafsmut) on rice; Epicoccum spp. (black mold) on wheat; Elysiphe spp.(powdery mildew) on sugar beets (E. betae), vegetables (e. g. E. pisi),such as cucurbits (e. g. E. cichoracearum), cabbages, rape (e. g. E.cruciferarum); Eutypa lata (Eutypa canker or dieback, anamorph:Cytosporina lata, syn. Libertella blepharis) on fruit trees, vines andornamental woods; Exserohilum (syn. Helminthosporium) spp. on corn (e.g. E. turcicum); Fusarium (teleomorph: Gibberella) spp. (wilt, root orstem rot) on various plants, such as F. graminearum or F. culmorum (rootrot, scab or head blight) on cereals (e. g. wheat or barley), F.oxysporum on tomatoes, F. solani on soybeans and F. verticillioides oncorn; Gaeumannomyces graminis (take-all) on cereals (e. g. wheat orbarley) and corn; Gibberella spp. on cereals (e. g. G. zeae) and rice(e. g. G. fujikuroi: Bakanae disease); Giomerelia cingulata on vines,pome fruits and other plants and G. gossypii on cotton; Grain-stainingcomplex on rice; Guignardia bidwellii (black rot) on vines;Gymnosporangium spp. on rosaceous plants and junipers, e. g. G. sabinae(rust) on pears; Helminthosporium spp. (syn. Drechslera, teleomorph:Cochliobolus) on corn, cereals and rice; Hemileia spp., e. g. H.vastatrix (coffee leaf rust) on coffee; Isariopsis clavispora (syn.Cladosporium vitis) on vines; Macrophomina phaseolina (syn. phaseoli)(root and stem rot) on soybeans and cotton; Microdochium (syn. Fusarium)nivale (pink snow mold) on cereals (e. g. wheat or barley); Microsphaeradiffusa (powdery mildew) on soybeans; Monilinia spp., e. g. M. laxa, M.fructicola and M. fructigena (bloom and twig blight, brown rot) on stonefruits and other rosaceous plants; Mycosphaerella spp. on cereals,bananas, soft fruits and ground nuts, such as e. g. M. graminicola(anamorph: Septoria tritici, Septoria blotch) on wheat or M. fijiensis(black Sigatoka disease) on bananas; Peronospora spp. (downy mildew) oncabbage (e. g. P. brassicae), rape (e. g. P. parasitica), onions (e. g.P. destructor), tobacco (P. tabacina) and soybeans (e. g. P.manshurica); Phakopsora pachyrhizi and P. meibomiae (soybean rust) onsoybeans; Phialophora spp. e. g. on vines (e. g. P. tracheiphlla and P.tetraspora) and soybeans (e. g. P. gregata: stem rot); Phoma lingam(root and stem rot) on rape and cabbage and P. betae (root rot, leafspot and damping-off) on sugar beets; Phomopsis spp. on sunflowers,vines (e. g. P. viticola: can and leaf spot) and soybeans (e. g. stemrot: P. phaseoli, teleomorph: Diaporthe phaseolorum); Physoderma maydis(brown spots) on corn; Phytophthora spp. (wilt, root, leaf, fruit andstem root) on various plants, such as paprika and cucurbits (e. g. P.capsici), soybeans (e. g. P. megasperma, syn. P. sojae), potatoes andtomatoes (e. g. P. infestans late blight) and broad-leaved trees (e. g.P. ramorum: sudden oak death); Plasmodiophora brassicae (club root) oncabbage, rape, radish and other plants; Plasmopara spp., e. g. P.viticola (grapevine downy mildew) on vines and P. halstedii onsunflowers; Podosphaera spp. (powdery mildew) on rosaceous plants, hop,pome and soft fruits, e. g. P. leucotricha on apples; Polymyxa spp., e.g. on cereals, such as barley and wheat (P. graminis) and sugar beets(P. betae) and thereby transmitted viral diseases; Pseudocercosporellaherpotfichoides (eyespot, teleomorph: Tapesia yallundae) on cereals, e.g. wheat or barley; Pseudoperonospora (downy mildew) on various plants,e. g. P. cubensis on cucurbits or P. humili on hop; Pseudopeziculatracheiphlla (red fire disease or, rotbrenner′, anamorph: Phialophora)on vines; Puccinia spp. (rusts) on various plants, e. g. P. triticina(brown or leaf rust), P. striiformis (stripe or yellow rust), P. hordei(dwarf rust), P. graminis (stem or black rust) or P. recondita (brown orleaf rust) on cereals, such as e. g. wheat, barley or rye, and asparagus(e. g. P. asparag); Pyrenophora (anamorph: Drechslera) tritici-repentis(tan spot) on wheat or P. teres (net blotch) on barley; Pyriculariaspp., e. g. P. oryzae (teleomorph: Magnaporthe grisea, rice blast) onrice and P. grisea on turf and cereals; Pythium spp. (damping-off) onturf, rice, corn, wheat, cotton, rape, sunflowers, soybeans, sugarbeets, vegetables and various other plants (e. g. P. ultimum or P.aphanidermatum); Ramularia spp., e. g. R. collo-cygni (Ramularia leafspots, Physiological leaf spots) on barley and R. beticola on sugarbeets; Rhizoctonia spp. on cotton, rice, potatoes, turf, corn, rape,potatoes, sugar beets, vegetables and various other plants, e. g. R.solani (root and stem rot) on soybeans, R. solani (sheath blight) onrice or R. cerealis (Rhizoctonia spring blight) on wheat or barley;Rhizopus stolonifer (black mold, soft rot) on strawberries, carrots,cabbage, vines and tomatoes; Rhynchosporium secalis (scald) on barley,rye and triticale; Sarocladium oryzae and S. attenuatum (sheath rot) onrice; Sclerotinia spp. (stem rot or white mold) on vegetables and fieldcrops, such as rape, sunflowers (e. g. S. sclerotiorum) and soybeans (ag. S. rolfsii or S. sclerotiorum); Septoria spp. on various plants, e.g. S. glycines (brown spot) on soybeans, S. tritici (Septoria blotch) onwheat and S. (syn. Stagonospora) nodorum (Stagonospora blotch) oncereals; Uncinula (syn. Eysiphe) necator (powdery mildew, anamorph:Oidium tuckeri) on vines; Setospaeria spp. (leaf blight) on corn (e. g.S. turcicum, syn. Helminthosporium turcicum) and turf; Sphacelothecaspp. (smut) on corn, (e. g. S. reiliana: head smut), sorghum and sugarcane; Sphaerotheca fuliginea (powdery mildew) on cucurbits; Spongosporasubterranea (powdery scab) on potatoes and thereby transmitted viraldiseases; Stagonospora spp. on cereals, e. g. S. nodorum (Stagonosporablotch, teleomorph: Leptosphaeria [syn. Phaeosphaeria] nodorum) onwheat; Synchytrium endobioticum on potatoes (potato wart disease);Taphrina spp., e. g. T. deformans (leaf curl disease) on peaches and T.pruni (plum pocket) on plums; Thielaviopsis spp. (black root rot) ontobacco, pome fruits, vegetables, soybeans and cotton, e. g. T. basicola(syn. Chalara elegans); Tilletia spp. (common bunt or stinking smut) oncereals, such as e. g. T. tritici(syn. T. caries, wheat bunt) and T.controversa (dwarf bunt) on wheat; Typhula incarnata (grey snow mold) onbarley or wheat; Urocystis spp., e. g. U. occulta (stem smut) on rye;Uromyces spp. (rust) on vegetables, such as beans (e. g. U.appendiculatus, syn. U. phaseoi) and sugar beets (e. g. U. betae);Ustilago spp. (loose smut) on cereals (e. g. U. nuda and U. avaenae),corn (e. g. U. maydis, corn smut) and sugar cane; Venturia spp. (scab)on apples (e. g. V. inaequalis) and pears; and Verticillium spp. (wilt)on various plants, such as fruits and ornamentals, vines, soft fruits,vegetables and field crops, e. g. V. dahliae on strawberries, rape,potatoes and tomatoes.

The inventive mixtures are also suitable for controlling fungal diseasesoccurring in the protection of materials. The term “protection ofmaterials” is to be understood to denote the protection of technical andnon-living materials, such as adhesives, glues, wood, paper andpaperboard, textiles, leather, paint dispersions, plastics, coilinglubricants, fiber or fabrics, against the infestation and destruction byharmful microorganisms, such as fungi and bacteria. As to the protectionof wood and other materials, the particular attention is paid to thefollowing harmful fungi: Ascomycetes such as Ophiostoma spp.,Ceratocystis spp., Aureobasidium pullulans, Sclerophoma spp., Chaetomiumspp., Humicola spp., Petriella spp., Trichurus spp.; Basidiomycetes suchas Coniophora spp., Coriolus spp., Gloeophyllum spp., Lentinus spp.,Pleurotus spp., Poria spp., Serpula spp. and Tyromyces spp.,Deuteromycetes such as Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Penicilliumspp., Trichorma spp., Alternaria spp., Paecilomyces spp. and Zygomycetessuch as Mucor spp., and in addition in the protection of stored productsthe following yeast fungi are worthy of note: Candida spp. andSaccharomyces cerevisae.

They are particularly important for controlling a multitude of harmfulfungi and aminal pests on various cultivated plants, such as cereals, e.g. wheat, rye, barley, triticale, oats or rice; beet, e. g. sugar beetor fodder beet; fruits, such as pomes, stone fruits or soft fruits, e.g. apples, pears, plums, peaches, almonds, cherries, strawberries,raspberries, blackberries or gooseberries; leguminous plants, such aslentils, peas, alfalfa or soybeans; oil plants, such as rape, mustard,olives, sunflowers, coconut, cocoa beans, castor oil plants, oil palms,ground nuts or soybeans; cucurbits, such as squashes, cucumber ormelons; fiber plants, such as cotton, flax, hemp or jute; citrus fruit,such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits or mandarins; vegetables, such asspinach, lettuce, asparagus, cabbages, carrots, onions, tomatoes,potatoes, cucurbits or paprika; lauraceous plants, such as avocados,cinnamon or camphor; energy and raw material plants, such as corn,soybean, rape, sugar cane or oil palm; corn; tobacco; nuts; coffee; tea;bananas; vines (table grapes and grape juice grape vines); hop; turf;sweet leaf (also called Stevia); natural rubber plants or ornamental andforestry plants, such as flowers, shrubs, broad-leaved trees orevergreens, e. g. conifers; and on the plant propagation material, suchas seeds, and the crop material of these plants.

Preferably, the inventive mixtures of the present invention are used forcontrolling a multitude of fungi on field crops, such as potatoes sugarbeets, tobacco, wheat, rye, barley, oats, rice, corn, cotton, soybeans,rape, legumes, sunflowers, coffee or sugar cane; fruits; vines;ornamentals; or vegetables, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, beans orsquashes.

Preferably, the treatment of plant propagation materials with theinventive mixtures is used for controlling a multitude of fungi oncereals, such as wheat, rye, barley and oats; rice, corn, cotton andsoybeans.

The inventive mixtures exhibit also outstanding action against animalpests from the following orders:

insects from the order of the lepidopterans (Lepidoptera), for exampleAgrotis ipsilon, Agrotis segetum, Alabama argillacea, Anticarsiagemmatalis, Argyresthia conjugella, Autographa gamma, Bupalus piniarius,Cacoecia murinana, Capua reticulana, Cheimatobia brumata, Choristoneurafumiferana, Choristoneura occidentalis, Cirphis unipuncta, Cydiapomonella, Dendrolimus pini, Diaphania nitidalls, Diatraea giandiosella,Earias insulana, Elasmopalpus lignosellus, Eupoecilia ambiguella,Evetria bouliana, Feltia subterranea, Galleria mellonella, Grapholithafunebrana, Grapholitha molesta, Heliothis armigera, Heliothis virescens,Heliothis zea, Hellula undalis, Hibernia defoliaria, Hyphantria cunea,Hyponomeuta malinellus, Keiferia lycopersicella, Lambdina fiscellaria,Laphygma exigua, Leucoptera coffeella, Leucoptera scitella, Lithocollegsblancardella, Lobesia botrana, Loxostege sticticalis, Lymantria dispar,Lymantria monacha, Lyonetia clerkella, Malacosoma neustria, Mamestrabrassicae, Orgyia pseudotsugata, Ostrinia nubfalis, Pano flammea,Pectinophora gossypiella, Peridroma saucia, Phalera bucephala,Phthorimaea operculella, Phyllocnistis citrella, Pieris brassicae,Plathypena scabra, Plutella xylostella, Pseudoplusia includens,Rhyacionia frustrana, Scrobipalpula absoluta, Sitotroga cerealella,Sparganothis pilleriana, Spodoptera frugiperda, Spodoptera Spodopteralitura, Thaumatopoea pityocampa, Tortrix viridana, Trichoplusia ni andZeiraphera canadensis

beetles (Coleoptera), for example Agrilus sinuatus, Agriotes lineatus,Agriotes obscurus, Amphimallus solstitialis, Anisandrus dispar,Anthonomus glandis, Anthonomus pomorum, Aphthona euphoridae, Athoushaemorrhoidalis, Atomaria linearis, Blastophagus piniperda, Blitophagaundata, Bruchus rufimanus, Bruchus pisorum, Bruchus lentis, betulae,Cassida nebulosa, Cerotoma trifurcata, Cetonia aurata, Ceuthorrhynchusassimilis, Ceuthorrhynchus napi, Chaetocnema Conoderus vespertinus,Crioceris asparagi, Ctenicera ssp., Diabrotica longicornis, Diabroticasemipunctata, Diabrotica 12-punctata Diabrotica speciosa, Diabroticavirgifera, Epilachna varivestis, Epitrix hirtipennis, Eutinobothrusbrasiliensis, Hylobius abietis, Hypera brunneipennis, Hypera postica,Ips typographus, Lema bilineata, Lema melanopus, Leptinotarsadecemlineata, Limonius californicus, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus,Melanotus communis, Meligethes aeneus, Melolontha hippocastani,Melolontha melolontha, Oulema oryzae, Ortiorrhynchus sulcatus,Otiorrhynchus ovatus, Phaedon cochleariae, Phyllobius pyri, Phyllotretachrysocephala, Phyllophaga sp., Phyllopertha horticola, Phyllotretanemorum, Phyllotreta striolata, Popillia japonica, Sitona lineatus andSitophilus granaria

flies, mosquitoes (Diptera), e.g. Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Aedesvexans, Anastrepha ludens, Anopheles maculipennis, Anopheles crucians,Anopheles albimanus, Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles freeborni, Anophelesleucosphyrus, Anopheles minimus, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Calliphoravicina, Ceratitis capitata, Chrysomya bezziana, Chrysomya hominivorax,Chrysomya macellaria, Chrysops discalis, Chrysops silacea, Chrysopsatlanticus, Cochliomyia hominivorax, Contarinia sorghicola Cordylobiaanthropophaga, Culicoides furens, Culex pipiens, Culex nigripalpus,Culex quinquefasciatus, Culex tarsalis, Culiseta inornata, Culisetamelanura, Dacus cucurbitae, Dacus oleae, Dasineura brassicae, Deliaantique, Delia coarctata, Delia platura, Delia radicum, Dermatobiahominis, Fannia canicularis, Geomyza Tripunctata, Gasterophilusintestinalis, Glossina morsitans, Glossina palpalis, Glossina fuscipes,Glossina tachinoides, Haematobia irritans, Haplodiplosis equestris,Hippelates spp., Hylemyia platura, Hypoderma lineata, Leptoconopstorrens, Liriomyza sativae, Liriomyza Lucilia caprina, Lucilia cuprina,Lucilia sericata, Lycoria pectoralis, Mansonia titillanus, Mayetioladestructor, Musca domestica, Muscina stabulans, Oestrus ovis, Opomyzaforum, Oscinella frit, Pegomya hysocyami, Phorbia antiqua, Phorbiabrassicae, Phorbia coarctata, Phlebotomus argentipes, Psorophoracolumbiae, Psila rosae, Psorophora discolor, Prosimulium mixtum,Rhagoletis cerasi, Rhagoletis pomonella, Sarcophaga haemorrhoidalis,Sarcophaga sp., Simulium vittatum, Stomoxys calcitrans, Tabanus bovinus,Tabanus atratus, Tabanus lineola, and Tabanus similis, Tipula oleracea,and Tipula paludosa

thrips (Thysanoptera), e.g. Dichromothrips corbetti, Dichromothrips ssp,Frankliniella fusca, Frankliniella occidentalis, Frankliniella tritici,Scirtothrips citri, Thrips oryzae, Thrips palmi and Thrips tabaci

termites (Isoptera), e.g. Calotermes flavicollis, Leucotermes flavipes,Heterotermes aureus, Reticulitermes flavipes, Reticulitermes virginicus,Reticulitermes lucifugus, Termes natalensis, and Coptotermes formosanus

cockroaches (Blattaria-Blattodea), e.g. Blattella germanica, Blattellaasahinae, Periplaneta americana, Periplaneta japonica, Periplanetabrunnea, Periplaneta fuligginosa, Periplaneta australasiae, and Blattaorientalis

true bugs (Hemiptera), e.g. Acrosternum hilare, Blissus leucopterus,Cyrtopeltis notatus, Dysdercus cingulatus, Dysdercus intermedius,Eurygaster integriceps, Euschistus impictiventris, Leptoglossusphyllopus, Lygus lineolaris, Lygus pratensis, Nezara viridula, Piesmaquadrata, Solubea insularis, Thyanta perditor, Acyrthosiphon onobrychis,Adelges laricis, Aphidula nasturii, Aphis fabae, Aphis forbesi, Aphispomi, Aphis gossypii, Aphis grossulariae, Aphis schneideri, Aphisspiraecola, Aphis sambuci, Acyrthosiphon pisum, Aulacorthum solani,Bemisia argentifolii, Brachycaudus cardui, Brachycaudus helichrysi,Brachycaudus persicae, Brachycaudus prunicola, Brevicoryne brassicae,Capitophorus horni, Cerosipha gossypii, Chaetosiphon fragaefolii,Cryptomyzus ribis, Dreyfusia nordmannianae, Dreyfusia piceae, Dysaphisradicola, Dysaulacorthum pseudosolani, Dysaphis plantaginea, Dysaphispyri, Empoasca fabae, Hyalopterus pruni, Hyperomyzus lactucae,Macrosiphum avenae, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, Macrosiphon rosae, Megouraviciae, Melanaphis pyrarius, Metopolophium dirhodum, Myzus persicae,Myzus ascalonicus, Myzus cerasi, Myzus varians, Nasonovia ribis-nigri,Nilaparvata lugens, Pemphigus bursaries, Perkinsiella saccharicida,Phorodon humuli, Psylla mali, Psylla piri, Rhopalomyzus ascalonicus,Rhopalosiphum maidis, Rhopalosiphum siphum padi, Rhopalosiphum insertum,Sappaphis mala, Sappaphis mali, Schizaphis graminum, Schizoneuralanuginosa, Sitobion avenae, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Toxopteraaurantiiand, Viteus vitifolii, Cimex lectularius, Cimex hemipterus,Reduvius senilis, Triatoma spp., and Arilus critatus.

ants, bees, wasps, sawflies (Hymenoptera), e.g. Athalia rosae, Attacephalotes, Atta capiguara, Atta cephalotes, Atta laevigata, Attarobusta, Atta sexdens, Atta texana, Crematogaster spp., Hoplocampaminuta, Hoplocampa testudinea, Monomorium pharaonis, Solenopsisgeminata, Solenopsis invicta, Solenopsis richteri, Solenopsis xyloni,Pogonomyrmex barbatus, Pogonomyrmex californicus, Pheidole megacephala,Dasymutilla occidentalis, Bombus spp. Vespula squamosa, Paravespulavulgaris, Paravespula pennsylvanica, Paravespula germanica,Dolichovespula maculata, Vespa crabro, Polistes rubiginosa, Camponotusfloridanus, and Linepithema humile

crickets, grasshoppers, locusts (Orthoptera), e.g. Acheta domestica,Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, Locusta migratoria, Melanoplus bivittatus,Melanoplus femurrubrum, Melanoplus mexicanus, Melanoplus sanguinipes,Melanoplus spretus, Nomadacris septemfasciata, Schistocerca americana,Schistocerca gregaria, Dociostaurus maroccanus, Tachycines asynamorus,Oedaleus senegalensis, Zonozerus variegatus, Hieroglyphus daganensis,Kraussaria angulifera, Calliptamus italicus, Chortoicetes terminifera,and Locustana pardalina

Arachnoidea, such as arachnids (Acarina), e.g. of the familiesArgasidae, Ixodidae and Sarcoptidae, such as Amblyomma americanum,Amblyomma variegatum, Ambryomma maculatum, Argas persicus, Boophilusannulatus, Boophilus decoloratus, Boophilus microplus, Dermacentorsilvarum, Dermacentor and ersoni, Dermacentor variabilis, Hyalommatruncatum, Ixodes ricinus, Ixodes rubicundus, Ixodes scapularis, Ixodesholocyclus, Ixodes pacificus, Ornithodorus moubata, Ornithodorus hermsi,Ornithodorus turicata, Ornithonyssus bacoti, Otobius megnini,Dermanyssus gallinae, Psoroptes ovis, Rhipicephalus sanguineus,Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus evertsi, Sarcoptes scabiei,and Eriophyidae spp. such as Aculus schlechtendali, Phyllocoptrataoleivora and Eriophyes sheldoni; Tarsonemidae spp. such as Phytonemuspallidus and Polyphagotarsonemus latus; Tenuipalpidae spp. such asBrevipalpus phoenicis; Tetranychidae spp. such as Tetranychuscinnabarinus, Tetranychus kanzawai, Tetranychus pacificus, Tetranychustelarius and Tetranychus urticae, Panonychus ulmi, Panonychus citri, andOligonychus pratensis; Araneida, e.g. Latrodectus mactans, andLoxosceles reclusa

fleas (Siphonaptera), e.g. Ctenocephalides felis, Ctenocephalides canis,Xenopsylla cheopis, Pulex irritans, Tunga penetrans, and Nosopsyllusfasciatus

silverfish, firebrat (Thysanura), e.g. Lepisma saccharin and Thermobiadomestica

centipedes (Chilopoda), e.g. Scutigera coleoptrata

millipedes (Diplopoda), e.g. Narceus spp.

Earwigs (Dermaptera), e.g. forficula auricularia

lice (Phthiraptera), e.g. Pediculus humanus capitis, Pediculus humanuscorporis, Pthirus pubis, Haematopinus eurysternus, Haematopinus suis,Linognathus vituli, Bovicola bovis, Menopon gallinae, Menacanthusstramineus and Solenopotes capillatus

plant parasitic nematodes such as root-knot nematodes, Meloidogynearenaria, Meloidogyne chitwoodi, Meloidogyne exigua, Meloidogyne hapla,Meloidogyne incognita, Meloidogyne javanica and other Meloidogynespecies; cyst nematodes, Globodera rostochiensis, Globodera pallida,Globodera tabacum and other Globodera species, Heterodera avenae,Heterodera glycines, Heterodera schachtii, Heterodera trifolii and otherHeterodera species; seed gall nematodes, Anguina funesta, Anguinatritici and other Anguina species; stem and foliar nematodes,Aphelenchoides besseyi, Aphelenchoides fragariae, Aphelenchoidesritzemabosi and other Aphelenchoides species; sting nematodes,Belonolaimus longicaudatus and other Belonolaimus species; pinenematodes, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and other Bursaphelenchus species;ring nematodes, Criconema species, Criconemella species, Criconemoidesspecies, and Mesocriconema species; stem and bulb nematodes, Ditylenchusdestructor, Ditylenchus dipsaci, Ditylenchus myceliophagus and otherDitylenchus species; awl nematodes, Dolichodorus species; spiralnematodes, Helicotylenchus dihystera, Helicotylenchus multicinctus andother Helicotylenchus species, Rotylenchus robustus and otherRotylenchus species, sheath nematodes, Hemicycliophora species andHemicriconemoides species; Hirshmanniella species; lance nematodes,Hoplolaimus columbus, Hoplolaimus galeatus and other Hoplolaimusspecies, false root-knot nematodes, Nacobbus aberrans and other Nacobbusspecies; needle nematodes, Longidorus elongates and other Longidorusspecies; pin nematodes, Paratylenchus species; lesion nematodes,Pratylenchus brachyurus, Pratylenchus coffeae, Pratylenchus curvitatus,Pratylenchus goodeyi, Pratylencus neglectus, Pratylenchus penetrans,Pratylenchus scribneri, Pratylenchus vulnus, Pratylenchus zeae and otherPratylenchus species; Radinaphelenchus cocophilus and otherRadinaphelenchus species, burrowing nematodes, Radopholus similis andother Radopholus species, reniform nematodes, Rotylenchulus reniformisand other Rotylenchulus species, Scutellonema species, stubby rootnematodes, Trichodorus primitivus and other Trichodorus species,Paratrichodorus minor and other Paratrichodorus species, stuntnematodes, Tylenchorhynchus claytoni, Tylenchorhynchus dubius and otherTylenchorhynchus species and Merlinius species, citrus nematodes,Tylenchulus semipenetrans and other Tylenchulus species; daggernematodes, Xiphinema americanum, Xiphinema index, Xiphinemadiversicaudatum and other Xiphinema species, and other plant parasiticnematode species.

The mixtures according to the invention can be applied to any and alldevelopmental stages of pests, such as egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Thepests may be controlled by contacting the target pest, its food supply,habitat, breeding ground or its locus with a pesticidally effectiveamount of the inventive mixtures or of compositions comprising themixtures.

“Locus” means a plant, plant propagation material (preferably seed),soil, area, material or environment in which a pest is growing or maygrow.

In general, “pesticidally effective amount” means the amount of theinventive mixtures or of compositions comprising the mixtures needed toachieve an observable effect on growth, including the effects ofnecrosis, death, retardation, prevention, and removal, destruction, orotherwise diminishing the occurrence and activity of the targetorganism. The pesticidally effective amount can vary for the variousmixtures/compositions used in the invention. A pesticidally effectiveamount of the mixtures/compositions will also vary according to theprevailing conditions such as desired pesticidal effect and duration,weather, target species, locus, mode of application, and the like.

As said above, the present invention comprises a method for improvingthe health of plants, wherein the plant, the locus where the plant isgrowing or is expected to grow or plant propagation material, from whichthe plant grows, is treated with an plant health effective amount of aninventive mixture.

The term “plant health effective amount” denotes an amount of theinventive mixtures, which is sufficient for achieving plant healtheffects as defined hereinbelow. More exemplary information aboutamounts, ways of application and suitable ratios to be used is givenbelow. Anyway, the skilled artisan is well aware of the fact that suchan amount can vary in a broad range and is dependent on various factors,e.g. the treated cultivated plant or material and the climaticconditions.

The term “effective amount” comprises the terms “plant health effectiveamount” and/or “pesticidally effective amount” as the case may be.

When preparing the mixtures, it is preferred to employ the pure activecompounds, to which further active compounds against pests, such asinsecticides, herbidices, fungicides or else herbicidal orgrowth-regulating active compounds or fertilizers can be added asfurther active components according to need.

The inventive mixtures are employed by treating the fungi or the plants,plant propagation materials (preferably seeds), materials or soil to beprotected from fungal attack with a pesticidally effective amount of theactive compounds. The application can be carried out both before andafter the infection of the materials, plants or plant propagationmaterials (preferably seeds) by the pests.

Preferably, the inventive mixtures are employed by treating the fungi orthe plants or soil to be protected from pesticidal attack via foliarapplication with a pesticidally effective amount of the activecompounds. Also herein, the application can be carried out both beforeand after the infection of the plants by the pests.

In the method of combating harmful fungi depending on the type ofcompound and the desired effect, the application rates of the mixturesaccording to the invention are from 0.1 g/ha to 10000 g/ha, preferably 2g/ha to 2500 g/ha, more preferably from 5 to 1000 g/ha, most preferablyfrom 10 to 750 g/ha, in particular from 20 to 500 g/ha.

In the method of combating animal pests (insects, acarids or nematodes)depending on the type of compound and the desired effect, theapplication rates of the mixtures according to the invention are from0.1 g/ha to 10000 g/ha, preferably 1 g/ha to 5000 g/ha, more preferablyfrom 20 to 1000 g/ha, most preferably from 10 to 750 g/ha, in particularfrom 20 to 500 g/ha.

The inventive mixtures or compositions of these mixtures can also beemployed for protecting plants from attack or infestation by animalpests (insects, acarids or nematodes) comprising contacting a plant, orsoil or water in which the plant is growing.

In the context of the present invention, the term plant refers to anentire plant, a part of the plant or the propagation material of theplant.

Plants and as well as the propagation material of said plants, which canbe treated with the inventive mixtures include all genetically modifiedplants or transgenic plants, e.g. crops which tolerate the action ofherbicides or fungicides or insecticides owing to breeding, includinggenetic engineering methods, or plants which have modifiedcharacteristics in comparison with existing plants, which can begenerated for example by traditional breeding methods and/or thegeneration of mutants, or by recombinant procedures.

For example, mixtures according to the present invention can be applied(as seed treatment, spray treatment, in furrow or by any other means)also to plants which have been modified by breeding, mutagenesis orgenetic engineering including but not limiting to agricultural biotechproducts on the market or in development (cf.http://www.bio.org/speeches/pubs/er/agri_products.asp). Geneticallymodified plants are plants, which genetic material has been so modifiedby the use of recombinant DNA techniques that under naturalcircumstances cannot readily be obtained by cross breeding, mutations ornatural recombination. Typically, one or more genes have been integratedinto the genetic material of a genetically modified plant in order toimprove certain properties of the plant. Such genetic modifications alsoinclude but are not limited to targeted post-transitional modificationof protein(s), oligo- or polypeptides e. g. by glycosylation or polymeradditions such as prenylated, acetylated or farnesylated moieties or PEGmoieties.

Plants that have been modified by breeding, mutagenesis or geneticengineering, e. g. have been rendered tolerant to applications ofspecific classes of herbicides, such as hydroxyphenylpyruvatedioxygenase (HPPD) inhibitors; acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors,such as sulfonyl ureas (see e. g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,100, WO 01/82685,WO 00/26390, WO 97/41218, WO 98/02526, WO 98/02527, WO 04/106529, WO05/20673, WO 03/14357, WO 03/13225, WO 03/14356, WO 04/16073) orimidazolinones (see e. g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,100, WO 01/82685, WO00/026390, WO 97/41218, WO 98/002526, WO 98/02527, WO 04/106529, WO05/20673, WO 03/014357, WO 03/13225, WO 03/14356, WO 04/16073);enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) inhibitors, such asglyphosate (see e. g. WO 92/00377); glutamine synthetase (GS)inhibitors, such as glufosinate (see e.g. EP-A 242 236, EP-A 242 246) oroxynil herbicides (see e. g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,024) as a result ofconventional methods of breeding or genetic engineering. Severalcultivated plants have been rendered tolerant to herbicides byconventional methods of breeding (mutagenesis), e. g. Clearfield® summerrape (Canola, BASF SE, Germany) being tolerant to imidazolinones, e. g.imazamox. Genetic engineering methods have been used to rendercultivated plants such as soybean, cotton, corn, beets and rape,tolerant to herbicides such as glyphosate and glufosinate, some of whichare commercially available under the trade names RoundupReady®(glyphosate-tolerant, Monsanto, U.S.A.) and LibertyLink®(glufosinate-tolerant, Bayer CropScience, Germany).

Furthermore, plants are also covered that are by the use of recombinantDNA techniques capable to synthesize one or more insecticidal proteins,especially those known from the bacterial genus Bacillus, particularlyfrom Bacillus thuringiensis, such as δ-endotoxins, e. g. CryIA(b),CryIA(c), CryIF, CryIF(a2), CryIIA(b), CryIIIA, CryIIIB(b1) or Cry9c;vegetative insecticidal proteins (VIP), e. g. VIP1, VIP2, VIP3 or VIP3A;insecticidal proteins of bacteria colonizing nematodes, e. g.Photorhabdus spp. or Xenorhabdus spp.; toxins produced by animals, suchas scorpion toxins, arachnid toxins, wasp toxins, or otherinsect-specific neurotoxins; toxins produced by fungi, suchStreptomycetes toxins, plant lectins, such as pea or barley lectins;agglutinins; proteinase inhibitors, such as trypsin inhibitors, serineprotease inhibitors, patatin, cystatin or papain inhibitors;ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIP), such as ricin, maize-RIP, abrin,luffin, saporin or bryodin; steroid metabolism enzymes, such as3-hydroxysteroid oxidase, ecdysteroid-IDP-glycosyl-transferase,cholesterol oxidases, ecdysone inhibitors or HMG-CoA-reductase; ionchannel blockers, such as blockers of sodium or calcium channels;juvenile hormone esterase; diuretic hormone receptors (helicokininreceptors); stilben synthase, bibenzyl synthase, chitinases orglucanases. In the context of the present invention these insecticidalproteins or toxins are to be understood expressly also as pre-toxins,hybrid proteins, truncated or otherwise modified proteins. Hybridproteins are characterized by a new combination of protein domains,(see, e. g. WO 02/015701). Further examples of such toxins orgenetically modified plants capable of synthesizing such toxins aredisclosed, e. g., in EP-A 374 753, WO 93/007278, WO 95/34656, EP-A 427529, EP-A 451 878, WO 03/18810 and WO 03/52073. The methods forproducing such genetically modified plants are generally known to theperson skilled in the art and are described, e. g. in the publicationsmentioned above. These insecticidal proteins contained in thegenetically modified plants impart to the plants producing theseproteins tolerance to harmful pests from all taxonomic groups ofathropods, especially to beetles (Coeloptera), two-winged insects(Diptera), and moths (Lepidoptera) and to nematodes (Nematoda).Genetically modified plants capable to synthesize one or moreinsecticidal proteins are, e. g., described in the publicationsmentioned above, and some of which are commercially available such asYieldGard® (corn cultivars producing the Cry1Ab toxin), YieldGard® Plus(corn cultivars producing Cry1Ab and Cry3Bb1 toxins), Starlink® (corncultivars producing the Cry9c toxin), Herculex® RW (corn cultivarsproducing Cry34Ab1, Cry35Ab1 and the enzymePhosphinothricin-N-Acetyltransferase [PAT]); NuCOTN® 33B (cottoncultivars producing the Cry1Ac toxin), Bollgard® I (cotton cultivarsproducing the Cry1Ac toxin), Bollgard® II (cotton cultivars producingCry1Ac and Cry2Ab2 toxins); VIPCOT® (cotton cultivars producing aVIP-toxin); NewLeaf® (potato cultivars producing the Cry3A toxin);BtXtra®, NatureGard®, KnockOut®, BiteGard®, Protecta®, Bt11 (e. g.Agrisure® CB) and Bt176 from Syngenta Seeds SAS, France, (corn cultivarsproducing the Cry1Ab toxin and PAT enzyme), MIR604 from Syngenta SeedsSAS, France (corn cultivars producing a modified version of the Cry3Atoxin, c.f. WO 03/018810), MON 863 from Monsanto Europe S.A., Belgium(corn cultivars producing the Cry3Bb1 toxin), IPC 531 from MonsantoEurope S.A., Belgium (cotton cultivars producing a modified version ofthe Cry1Ac toxin) and 1507 from Pioneer Overseas Corporation, Belgium(corn cultivars producing the Cry1F toxin and PAT enzyme).

Furthermore, plants are also covered that are by the use of recombinantDNA techniques capable to synthesize one or more proteins to increasethe resistance or tolerance of those plants to bacterial, viral orfungal pathogens. Examples of such proteins are the so-called“pathogenesis-related proteins” (PR proteins, see, e. g. EP-A 392 225),plant disease resistance genes (e. g. potato cultivars, which expressresistance genes acting against Phytophthora infestans derived from themexican wild potato Solanum bulbocastanum) or T4-lysozym (e. g. potatocultivars capable of synthesizing these proteins with increasedresistance against bacteria such as Erwinia amylvora). The methods forproducing such genetically modified plants are generally known to theperson skilled in the art and are described, e. g. in the publicationsmentioned above.

Furthermore, plants are also covered that are by the use of recombinantDNA techniques capable to synthesize one or more proteins to increasethe productivity (e. g. bio mass production, grain yield, starchcontent, oil content or protein content), tolerance to drought, salinityor other growth-limiting environmental factors or tolerance to pests andfungal, bacterial or viral pathogens of those plants.

Furthermore, plants are also covered that contain by the use ofrecombinant DNA techniques a modified amount of substances of content ornew substances of content, specifically to improve human or animalnutrition, e. g. oil crops that produce health-promoting long-chainomega-3 fatty acids or unsaturated omega-9 fatty acids (e. g. Nexera®rape, DOW Agro Sciences, Canada).

Furthermore, plants are also covered that contain by the use ofrecombinant DNA techniques a modified amount of substances of content ornew substances of content, specifically to improve raw materialproduction, e. g. potatoes that produce increased amounts of amylopectin(e. g. Amflora® potato, BASF SE, Germany).

In a further embodiment of the invention, the inventive mixtures areused for the protection of the seed and the seedlings' roots and shoots,preferably the seeds.

Seed treatment can be made into the seedbox before planting into thefield.

For seed treatment purposes, the weight ration in the mixtures of thepresent invention generally depends from the properties of the compoundsof the inventive mixtures.

Compositions, which are especially useful for seed treatment are e.g.:

A Soluble concentrates (SL, LS)

D Emulsions (EW, EO, ES) E Suspensions (SC, OD, FS)

F Water-dispersible granules and water-soluble granules (WG, SG)G Water-dispersible powders and water-soluble powders (WP, SP, WS)

H Gel-Formulations (GF)

I Dustable powders (DP, DS)

These compositions can be applied to plant propagation materials,particularly seeds, diluted or undiluted. These compositions can beapplied to plant propagation materials, particularly seeds, diluted orundiluted. The compositions in question give, after two-to-tenfolddilution, active substance concentrations of from 0.01 to 60% by weight,preferably from 0.1 to 40% by weight, in the ready-to-use preparations.Application can be carried out before or during sowing. Methods forapplying or treating agrochemical compounds and compositions thereof,respectively, on to plant propagation material, especially seeds, areknown in the art, and include dressing, coating, pelleting, dusting andsoaking application methods of the propagation material (and also infurrow treatment). In a preferred embodiment, the compounds or thecompositions thereof, respectively, are applied on to the plantpropagation material by a method such that germination is not induced,e. g. by seed dressing, pelleting, coating and dusting.

In the treatment of plant propagation material (preferably seed), theapplication rates of the inventive mixture are generally for theformulated product (which usually comprises from 10 to 750 g/l of theactive(s)).

The invention also relates to the propagation products of plants, andespecially the seed comprising, that is, coated with and/or containing,a mixture as defined above or a composition containing the mixture oftwo or more active ingredients or a mixture of two or more compositionseach providing one of the active ingredients. The plant propagationmaterial (preferably seed) comprises the inventive mixtures in an amountof from 0.1 g to 10 kg per 100 kg of plant propagation material(preferably seed), preferably 0.1 g to 1 kg per 100 kg of plantpropagation material (preferably seed).

For example, the ratio by weight for compound II is herein preferablybetween 0.5-200 g/100 kg plant propagation material (preferably seed),more preferred 1 to 50 g/100 kg plant propagation material (preferablyseed) and most preferred 1 to 20 g/100 kg plant propagation material(preferably seed).

For example, the ratio by weight of compound I is herein preferablybetween 1-2000 g/100 kg plant propagation material (preferably seed),more preferred 10 to 1000 g/100 kg plant propagation material(preferably seed), most preferred 25 to 750 g/100 kg plant propagationmaterial (preferably seed) and utmost preferred 50-500 g/100 kg plantpropagation material (preferably seed).

The separate or joint application of the compounds of the inventivemixtures is carried out by spraying or dusting the seeds, the seedlings,the plants or the soils before or after sowing of the plants or beforeor after emergence of the plants.

The inventive mixtures are effective through both contact (via soil,glass, wall, bed net, carpet, plant parts or animal parts), andingestion (bait, or plant part) and through trophallaxis and transfer.

Preferred application methods are into water bodies, via soil, cracksand crevices, pastures, manure piles, sewers, into water, on floor,wall, or by perimeter spray application and bait.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, for useagainst non phytophathogenic pests such as ants, termites, wasps, flies,mosquitoes, crickets, locusts, or cockroaches the inventive mixtures areprepared into a bait preparation.

The bait can be a liquid, a solid or a semisolid preparation (e.g. agel). The bait employed in the composition is a product which issufficiently attractive to incite insects such as ants, termites, wasps,flies, mosquitoes, crickets etc. or cockroaches to eat it. Thisattractant may be chosen from feeding stimulants or para and/or sexpheromones readily known in the art.

Methods to control infectious diseases transmitted bynon-phytophathogenic insects (e.g. malaria, dengue and yellow fever,lymphatic filariasis, and leishmaniasis) with the inventive mixtures andtheir respective compositions also comprise treating surfaces of hutsand houses, air spraying and impregnation of curtains, tents, clothingitems, bed nets, tsetse-fly trap or the like. Insecticidal compositionsfor application to fibers, fabric, knitgoods, non-wovens, nettingmaterial or foils and tarpaulins preferably comprise a compositionincluding the inventive mixtures, optionally a repellent and at leastone binder.

The inventive mixtures and the compositions comprising them can be usedfor protecting wooden materials such as trees, board fences, sleepers,etc. and buildings such as houses, outhouses, factories, but alsoconstruction materials, furniture, leathers, fibers, vinyl articles,electric wires and cables etc. from ants and/or termites, and forcontrolling ants and termites from doing harm to crops or human being(e.g. when the pests invade into houses and public facilities).

In the case of soil treatment or of application to the pests dwellingplace or nest, the quantity of active ingredient ranges from 0.0001 to500 g per 100 m², preferably from 0.001 to 20 g per 100 m².

Customary application rates in the protection of materials are, forexample, from 0.01 g to 1000 g of active compound per m² treatedmaterial, desirably from 0.1 g to 50 g per m².

Insecticidal compositions for use in the impregnation of materialstypically contain from 0.001 to 95 weight %, preferably from 0.1 to 45weight %, and more preferably from 1 to 25 weight % of at least onerepellent and/or insecticide.

For use in bait compositions, the typical content of active ingredientis from 0.0001 weight % to 15 weight %, desirably from 0.001 weight % to5% weight % of active compound. The composition used may also compriseother additives such as a solvent of the active material, a flavoringagent, a preserving agent, a dye or a bitter agent. Its attractivenessmay also be enhanced by a special color, shape or texture.

For use in spray compositions, the content of the mixture of the activeingredients is from 0.001 to 80 weights %, preferably from 0.01 to 50weight % and most preferably from 0.01 to 15 weight %.

The invention is further illustrated by, but not limited to thefollowing examples.

EXAMPLES

The active compounds were formulated separately as a stock solutionhaving a concentration of 10000 ppm in dimethyl sulfoxide.

Activity Against Rice Blast Pyricularia oryzae in the MicrotiterplateTest (Pyrior)

The stock solutions were mixed according to the ratio, pipetted onto amicro titer plate (MTP) and diluted with water to the statedconcentrations. A spore suspension of Pyricularia oryzae in an aqueousbiomalt solution was then added. The plates were placed in a watervapor-saturated chamber at a temperature of 18° C. Using an absorptionphotometer, the MTPs were measured at 405 nm 7 days after theinoculation. The measured parameters were compared to the growth of theactive compound-free control variant (100%) and the fungus-free andactive compound-free blank value to determine the relative growth in %of the pathogens in the respective active compounds. These percentageswere converted into efficacies.

The expected efficacies of active compound mixtures were determinedusing Colby's formula [R. S. Colby, “Calculating synergistic andantagonistic responses of herbicide combinations”, Weeds 15, 20-22(1967)] and compared with the observed efficacies.

Calculated efficacy Active Concen- according compound/ tration Observedto Synergism active mixture (ppm) Mixture efficacy Colby (%) (%)Pyraclostrobin 0.004 — 23 alpha- 1 — 1 Cypermethrin Pyraclostrobin 0.0041:250 67 25 42 alpha- 1 Cypermethrin

1-35. (canceled)
 36. A mixture comprising, as active components, 1)bifenthrin; and 2) fluoxastrobin; in synergistic effective amounts. 37.The mixture according to claim 36, wherein the ratio by weight ofbifenthrin to fluoxastrobin is from 1:500 to 500:1.
 38. The mixtureaccording to claim 36, wherein the ratio by weight of bifenthrin tofluoxastrobin is from 1:100 to 100:1.
 39. A pesticidal composition,comprising a liquid or solid carrier and a mixture as defined in claim36.
 40. A method for controlling pests and/or improving the health ofplants, wherein (a) the pest, their habitat, breeding grounds, theirlocus or the plants to be protected against pest attack, the soil orplant propagation material; or (b) the plant, the locus where the plantis growing or is expected to grow or plant propagation material fromwhich the plant grows; are treated with an effective amount of a mixtureas defined in claim
 36. 41. A method for protection of plant propagationmaterial from pests comprising contacting the plant propagationmaterials with a mixture as defined in claim 36 in pesticidallyeffective amounts.
 42. A method as claimed in claim 41, wherein themixture as defined in claim 16 is applied in an amount of from 0.01 g to10 kg per 100 kg of plant propagation materials.
 43. A method as claimedin claim 40, wherein the compounds as defined in claim 16 are appliedsimultaneously, that is jointly or separately, or in succession. 44.Plant propagation material, comprising the mixture as defined in claim36 in an amount of from 0.01 g to 10 kg per 100 kg of plant propagationmaterials.